Bacon, Houlahan and Quality of Life Panel Urge Senators to Accept their Recommendations in the Fiscal Year 25 National Defense Authorization Act

Washington - Today, Reps. Don Bacon (R-NE) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee's (HASC) bipartisan Military Quality of Life Panel, led the members of the panel in a letter to Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and Roger Wicker (R-MS), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) urging them to include the provisions of the Panel's report that are a part of the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Ac (NDAA). Title XVIII of H.R. 8070, the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and FY25 NDAA includes the recommendations from the bipartisan Quality of Life Panel.

The Quality of Life Panel last year held detailed inquiries and learned about the alarming erosion of military quality of life and programs supporting it. The top five highlights include:

1. Compensation. Sudden and significant increased to the cost of living have outpaced annual military pay raises and triggered economic, food, and housing insecurity for servicemembers and their families, particularly within enlisted ranks.
2. Housing Quality. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) testified to the shocking disrepair of housing facilities which pose unacceptable health, safety, and readiness risks to servicemembers.
3. Healthcare Access. The panel observed unacceptably long wait times for medical appointments, now cited as a leading reason for job dissatisfaction in the ranks with 40% of servicemembers ad dependents waiting two months or longer to see a specialist.
4. Childcare Access. The work of the panel also affirmed the importance of reliable access to affordable childcare as essential to readiness and retention, especially for single parents, dual military, and the growing proportion of dual income families in general.
5. Spouse Support. Military spouse unemployment is currently estimated to be 21%, more than four times the national average and consistently among the highest of any cohort in the country. Frequent moves, isolated locations, and other bureaucratic obstacles make finding and keeping a job difficult for military spouses and is why one in five military families now cite spouse employment challenges as a primary reason they consider leaving military service.

"Too many of our servicemembers and miliary families are struggling and it's not right," said Bacon, Chairman of the Military Quality of Life Panel. "The House of Representatives takes these concerns seriously and developed concrete, bi-partisan solutions to fix these widespread deficiencies. I urge our colleagues in the Senate to work with us to include these recommendations in the final NDAA agreement."

"As veterans, Rep. Bacon and I understand that our national security is at its strongest when our brave men and women in uniform are cared for. Our military personnel and their families are facing unique challenges right now, and it's our responsibility to deliver solutions," said Rep. Houlahan. "The policies we've proposed to address the issues impacting service members' quality of life focused on housing, childcare, compensation, health care, and spouse support programs must be included in the final NDAA to ensure our military forces can face our nation's global challenges."

Other House Members of the Quality of Life panel include Reps. Mark Alford (R-MO), Jim Banks (R-IN), Donald G. Davis (D-NC), Veronica Escobar (D-TX), Sara Jacobs (D-CA), Jen A. Kiggins (R-VA), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Morgan Luttrell (R-TX), Nancy Mace (R-NC), James C. Moylan(R-Guam), and Marilyn Strickland (D-WA).

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